Dr. Alain Bensoussan

Professor of Risk and Decision Analysis

Ashbel Smith Professor

Since joining UT Dallas in 2004, Bensoussan has been devoted to developing risk and decision analysis into a scientific field. He became interested in studying risk after his experiences in the space sector. The issue of risk is inherent in many areas, including engineering, finance, security or natural hazards. As such, Bensoussan is helping to build a new interdisciplinary science that can provide models and tools for a large variety of applications.

“I wanted to devote my time to developing risk management as a scientific field because it is important to have in mind that risks, wherever they come from, have common features,” he said. “Therefore, I approach risks by finding concepts, methods and techniques which can apply in a similar way, whether it’s in finance, nuclear energy or any other domain.&”

He is head of UT Dallas’ International Center for Decision and Risk Analysis, which develops risk management research as it pertains to large-investment industrial projects that involve new technologies, applications and markets. The National Science Foundation, the state of Texas and European agencies support his research.

He is the co-editor of Risk and Decision Analysis and a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He is also a Von Humboldt award recipient.

Bensoussan served as president of the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control. He is chair professor of Risk and Decision Analysis at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and World Class University Distinguished Professor at Ajou University. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Paris Dauphine.

He earned a master’s degree in mathematics and sciences from Ecole Polytechnique, a master’s degree in economics and statistics from Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Economique, and a PhD in mathematics from the University of Paris.

Bensoussan was selected by the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics to receive the 2014 W.T. and Ida Reid Prize for his contributions in the fields of differential equations and control theory. In 2013, he was named a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society.

Bensoussan is intensifying his collaboration with the alternative energy industry in the domain of wind power forecasting.

Bensoussan served as chairman of the European Space Agency Council from 1999 to 2002, and head of the French Space Agency from 1996 to 2003. He was the recipient of the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal in 2001.

"Space is a risky business. It’s not the only risky business. Finance is a risky business. Drilling oil is a risky business. Nuclear plants are risky. Risk is a part of our lives, and it’s something to consider with attention."